Technologies

Apple’s Next Big Move: iPhone 20 Reportedly Could Ditch Every Physical Button

If you like the security of a physical button to feel for on your iPhone, you might need to adjust to a new style.

Future iPhones may not have physical buttons, according to an unconfirmed report from a leaker who goes by Instant Digital, and who shared the information on the Chinese social media platform Weibo.

Tech news site 9to5Mac translated the post from Chinese.

«The solid-state button scheme of Apple iPhone has completed the functional verification and is planned to be mass-produced and applied on the iPhone 20 in 2027,» the translation read. «At that time, the power button, volume button, operation button and camera control button will be upgraded to solid-state buttons with local vibration feedback.»

A representative for Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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It’s not an entirely new concept in the smartphone world.

«There have been plenty of Android phones that have tried replacing buttons with faux ones in part,» said CNET managing editor Patrick Holland. «But in 2018, HTC launched the U12 Plus, which lacked actual buttons. Instead, there were raised areas that were touch-sensitive and simulated the action and feel of a real button using haptics.»

Haptics refers to the iPhone’s way of providing feedback through vibrations or taps, which can let users know they’ve touched the right spot on the phone, even if there’s no physical button to feel.

A buttonless iPhone might take Apple customers a while to get used to, but Holland sees a positive side to the lack of physical buttons.

«The upside is that there isn’t anything that can break,» he said. «Apple has had haptic buttons on its devices for years. The home button on the iPhone 7 and newer was all haptics. And the trackpads on MacBooks have all used capacitive touch, instead of actual hardware, for nearly a decade.»

Holland also notes that while Instant Digital, the account that leaked this report, has a mixed record when it comes to accuracy, «lately more (of their reports) have been right than not.»

Even back in 2021, there were rumors that the then-upcoming iPhone 13 would have no physical buttons, and a similar rumor popped up for the iPhone 15 Pro.

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Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for March 18, #1011

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for March 18 #1011.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is pretty tricky, but musicians might find the blue group easy. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Time between two things, maybe.

Green group hint: That smarts!

Blue group hint: Rockers know these well.

Purple group hint: You might write one out to pay a bill.